K-La after Tom

Quite a few people were taken by surprise when singer-actress K-La Rivera switched networks from ABS-CBN  where she was discovered via the reality singing search Star Power (where Angeline Quinto was also discovered)  to the rival network where her former boyfriend Tom Rodriguez is also currently affiliated.

Apparently, many of them thought that K-La would want to put more distance between the two of them but K-La explains that her decision was simply a career move and had nothing to do with her private life. “I’m just moving on and focusing on what’s going on in my life now,” she says, confirming that she and Tom, who’s being linked to Carla Abellana, have run into each other at work. “It’s unavoidable. But I try to just leave it behind and move forward.”

The end of a relationship is always a sad thing but K-La doesn’t feel bad over the fact that hers didn’t go the distance. “I don’t feel bad because I believe in the saying that everything happens for a reason. It just means that he’s not the one. I’m still young. I’m only 23 and there’s so much more out there.”

K-La is very much focused on her career right now and on all the opportunities coming her way. She appeared in the Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group mounted repeat of the Manila run of Rock of Ages opposite international rock star and theater artist MiG Ayesa. K-La first made her mark on the stage in shows such as In the Heights, Aladdin and  — and then Rock of Ages was offered to her. All of these, says K-La, are reasons why she is still in the country. She could have packed her bags and gone home to Canada when the opportunities weren’t coming fast enough but somehow there was always something pulling her back.

“There have been a few times that I have thought of going home, also because my family is there, but there’s always something that brings me back like a show or the pull of performing,” says K-La. “At first, you think your mind is set, then a job or a show comes up. So, I guess it’s still in God’s plan to keep me here.”

So far, so good. Her decision to stay has been paying off because the projects that K-La’s been getting are not just ordinary projects where she sings, dances or acts, then gets paid a fee. Rock of Ages, for instance, required her to step out of her comfort zone as an actress because the role was a little more daring than anything she’s done onstage. It required her to wear clothing that bared a little more skin and perform dance moves that K-La would not have performed in real life.

Her character, Sherry, is forced to work as a stripper — and that’s where the challenge for K-La came in.

“I definitely had to step out of my comfort zone (as an actress),” she admits. “Sherry doesn’t want to be a stripper but she has to pay the bills. That’s the charm of the piece as well. There’s also one song I Hate Myself for Loving You that I sing but I’m not an angry person (by nature) so that was also challenging for me. Actually, the songs in the musical are all familiar songs, but for me, it was more of getting adjusted to more of the rock sound that I had to learn. But the songs are awesome, especially the duets which were a lot of fun.”

She hopes to keep landing projects that will require her to stretch herself creatively, both as an actress and as a singer. And for as long as there is a reason for her to stay, K-La says she definitely will.